Black’s face turned a bruised shade of purple as he gasped for air, frantically slapping his arm trying to beg for mercy, but Allen Zhang didn’t take it easy on him, increasing his might once more, and within seconds, Black’s eyes rolled back as he passed out.
Seeing that Black was motionless, Allen Zhang immediately released his grip, genuinely afraid he might have strangled him to death.
The old man was terrified, sitting in the corner leaning against the wall, clutching his chest, with a face that said he had narrowly escaped death, still in shock.
Sieg casually closed the door, glanced around the room – an open coke bottle, takeout boxes, cigarette butts, syringes, a complete mess. A pay-per-view program was still playing on the TV, and the bed was piled with tissues.
It was obvious to anyone what Black had been up to.
He was on drugs, no wonder he was so fierce.
Sieg pulled a handgun from his tactical vest, scaring the white-haired old man green, as he feared they were about to kill him to cover their tracks.
He hurriedly asked, "Hey! What are you guys doing? What’s all this about? The man’s already passed out, why are you pulling a gun?"
"It’s none of your business now, thanks for your cooperation. We’ve found the person we were looking for. But since you’ve taken our money, it’s in your best interest to keep your mouth shut, otherwise, you should understand the consequences."
Allen Zhang warned him, then stood up to stretch his muscles. He felt he had neglected his training for a few days, his body and technique were indeed a bit rusty.
It wasn’t surprising that his punch didn’t knock out Black instantly – the other must have had some training too, knew how to protect his weak spots. After taking a punch, he had more fight left than in several big brawls, coupled with the cramped room, and since the opponent was high, he had to use ground techniques to shock him into unconsciousness.
He grabbed a cup of water from the room, splashed it on Black’s face. The diluted blood mixed with the swollen brow and his bruised face made Black look utterly miserable.
Black quickly came to but before he could regain his senses, Sieg’s gun was already pressed to his forehead. The cold touch of the barrel sent chills down Black’s spine.
Allen Zhang pulled up a chair and sat down, arms crossed, staring intently at him, "Do you know why we’re here?"
"I know." Black had been beaten into submission, without the slightest thought of resistance. His nose was still throbbing, and his neck had almost been snapped.
"Good. Someone paid a lot of money on the Black Market for your life. Any last words?" Allen Zhang spoke while also drawing his handgun.
"What? I just stole something, and those motherf*ckers want me dead!?"
Black totally lost his composure, his anger boiling over, "Fxxk! I didn’t steal it on my own accord; I was on a job, following orders! That guy told me to hide for a couple of days and it’d be fine, but he didn’t clear my name, now he’s sending someone to finish me! Those employers have no honor!"
"Wait, you’re saying the person who hired you to steal and the person who has a bounty on you are the same?" Allen Zhang felt puzzled. He took out his phone, brought up the employer’s information page, and showed it to Black, "Is it him?"
"That’s him! That damned Ye ShiFu!"
Black confirmed after one glance, "He’s the one who asked me to break into that store at night. He betrayed his friend, his friend stored a Buddha statue in his shop, and he wanted to pocket the antique for himself! He told me to steal it and then return it to him. I have the chat records on my phone, look if you don’t believe me!"
Allen Zhang was skeptical but immediately had Sieg retrieve Black’s phone.
After unlocking the phone with fingerprints and opening the chat app, a quick glance at the messages confirmed the same person had issued the task.
Allen Zhang pondered for a few seconds. If what Black said was true, then this was a clear case of thief shouting ’stop thief.’ The perpetrator must have been blinded by greed.
But it had nothing to do with them.
The General Sect Leader would bring the person and the goods; could the other party even dare not to pay the reward?
I can find in 2 hours the person you couldn’t, and in the same time I can find your entire family’s information and pay a visit to blow you away!
Allen Zhang, annoyed with Black, said, "The reason the employer put a bounty on you is obviously because you broke a promise beforehand. They didn’t even ask us to kill you, just to take you to the outskirts. But what have you done, keeping quiet? You were supposed to steal the goods and return them, but what did you do? You fled with the antique! You totally deserve to be hunted."
Black’s expression turned unnatural, "That’s right, I did think the object was very valuable. A $500 reward is a lot, but selling it I would get even more!"
So what is this, a swindler meeting a cross and double cross?
After all, the antique itself was a fake. Ye ShiFu’s friend wasn’t any good either; probably meant to set up Ye ShiFu. But instead of playing by the rules, Ye ShiFu, not wanting to spend an extra cent, instructed Black to steal the antique, making a clean slate of it, turning himself into a victim too.
But he never expected Black, a local chap, to be so dishonest, greedy as to swallow the antique, not delivering on time, and sending Ye ShiFu into a panic.
People’s hearts can be so treacherous!!
Allen Zhang immediately took a photo of him and sent it to the employer, Ye ShiFu.
Burger King: Found the guy, and the antique as well.
Ye ShiFu: That fast!?
Seeing the battered Black man in the photo, plus the gun barrel from the first-person perspective, even Ye ShiFu was startled.